New Computer ideas

I recently had a thread about a Desktop I'm paying on for Aaron's. Everyone has convinced me that what I'm getting isn't worth it ($1,231 for a computer that can't even play GTA IV properly).

My question is, does anyone have any ideas on what computer I should buy, that's of course under $1,231 and is better than the one I have?

Specs of current desktop:

ATI Radeon HD 3000

AMD Athlon II X2 2.8 GHz processor

4 GB RAM

I want a computer that's already made, I don't want to build one myself. I know it would be better, but I'm not experienced with that. I don't want to attempt it and not be able to, which would be a waste of money.

I recently had a thread about a Desktop I'm paying on for Aaron's. Everyone has convinced me that what I'm getting isn't worth it ($1,231 for a computer that can't even play GTA IV properly).

My question is, does anyone have any ideas on what computer I should buy, that's of course under $1,231 and is better than the one I have?

I want a computer that's already made, I don't want to build one myself. I know it would be better, but I'm not experienced with that. I don't want to attempt it and not be able to, which would be a waste of money.

you can select your own pieces that will come in/with it, except the GPU. though, i think they're better then what you've got currently, im not sure.
i think that xps line is new??? and therefore has a new mid range GPU from AMD?? someone else will have to confirm that.

if you save money here though just buy a new PSU and GPU, Dells a very neatly packed inside so finding and swapping the bits aren't hard. and it literally only takes a few screws, literally! if the PSU is sufficient, then its even less work! just pull out the old and plug in the new[GPU].

EDIT:
I don't really know what you consider "play" also. im happy with 30fps med settings mostly, for higher end games. to that end i'll add this too

I own an Alienware X51 the one with the best available specifications and it didnt cost me much, its a pretty decent machine however not an extremely good one. so a X51 model would be an option for you.

Maybe i'll wait till they put the faster and more importantly cooler Nvidia 6xx series into the X51 (or X52 whatever).
I could built a cheaper and more powerfull Desktop if i buy all the parts seperately but i want a small and silent PC for the living room.

Ok thanks for all that. I would prefer to play it on medium/high, don't know why I didn't mention it earlier.

Would the i7 be better overall though, like a better processor than i5, or they about the same? GTA most likely wouldn't be the only game I would play, that's just what I have right now.

You can see I don't know as much as I would like to...lol

im no techno buff, but from what i've read the i7 and i5's major difference would be 'Hyper-Threading'. Essentially i7 has it, i5 does not.

im not aware of any games that support hyper threading, Matrix might have better insight into this. it wouldn't hurt to have it, however, if you can get an i7 then definitely go that route.
i personally would just get an i5 and spend the money on a separate GPU; possibly AMD 7770 or higher.

heres a snippet from the web

What Hyper threading is:

Another significant performance difference is how the Core i7 and Core i5 products will be handling hyper-threading. Hyper-threading is a technology used by Intel to simulate more cores than actually exist on the processor. While Core i7 products have all been quad-cores, they appear in Windows as having eight cores. This further improves performance when using programs that make good use of multi-threading.All Sandy Bridge Core i5 processors have hyper-threading disabled, and all Sandy Bridge Core i7 processors have hyper-threading enabled. This is a major feature difference of Core i5 vs Core i7 processors, and it will give the Core i7 products an advantage over Core i5 processors in some heavily multi-threaded applications.

For consumers

Currently, the Core i5 processor brand makes up most of Intel's Sandy Bridge processor line. The prices of these processors range from $177 to $216 with base clock speeds between 2.8 GHz and 3.3 GHz. Intel only offers two Core i7 products, the Core i7-2600 and Core i7-2600K, both of which have a 3.4 GHz base clock speed. The i7-2600 has a price tag of $294.As you may have guessed, paying about $80 more for the 100 MHz clock speed increase between the fastest i5 and the i7 isn't a great deal. The main reason to pay this additional cash for a i7 is hyper-threading, but this advantage will only be evident if you frequently use programs that can actually make use of 8 threads.For most users, the i5 is clearly the better deal. The i5-2500 makes the most sense in my opinion, as it offers an extremely quick base clock speed of 3.3 GHz for about $200. Of course, the value of this is subject to change in the future as Intel fleshes out its product line with new models.

as gangsta stated though, most games are GPU intensive. a better GPU will gain better performance/visuals. AMD 7770 should be the lowest you go to maintain high to med settings at 1080p

Yup no games apart from very few (Alan Wake) make use of more than 2 cores. So having Hyper-Threading for games is pretty useless. But, if you can get it, get an i7 surely since it'll increase your overall computer performance.

[CENTER]You see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push!

Anyone know how reliable this "Dell Preferred Account" is? If I done that, I would pay $36 a month and pay it off in 15 Years, but paying over $4,000. (I wouldn't do that though)
If I payed $86/mo, then I would pay it off in 2 years, and pay up to $1,535.

But probably the best way would be saving up enough money, and just buy it, if I think about it.

Anyone know how reliable this "Dell Preferred Account" is? If I done that, I would pay $36 a month and pay it off in 15 Years, but paying over $4,000. (I wouldn't do that though)
If I payed $86/mo, then I would pay it off in 2 years, and pay up to $1,535.

But probably the best way would be saving up enough money, and just buy it, if I think about it.

No the GT640 is significantly worse. The current gen card Nvidia has the matches up most closely to the 7770 (either equaling it or beating it) is the GTX670.

Do not finance a computer. Buy it outright.

If I were you, I would wait for the prices for those ASUS desktops to come out. ASUS tends to provide the most bang for your buck.

No the GT640 is significantly worse. The current gen card Nvidia has the matches up most closely to the 7770 (either equaling it or beating it) is the GTX670.

Do not finance a computer. Buy it outright.

If I were you, I would wait for the prices for those ASUS desktops to come out. ASUS tends to provide the most bang for your buck.

Ok, thanks. I'll look at the ASUS one's. I was thinking about the Dell XPS, but to get the i7, i would get the

GT 640. So I'll look for something else.

Every single computer I find with a good price, has a bad graphics card. Most have the nVidia GT520.

EDIT: Would it be better to buy a computer that has everything good (Processor, RAM, etc) and just buy a better graphics card? I can not find a computer that has a good graphics card. It's always worse than the AMD 7770 or the nVidia GTX670.

Also, I found these two graphic cards. The ATI is cheaper, but I don't know what would be more worth to get.

one review said they were comparable in the tests they run. Thanks again.

I would like to get the 7970, because of the price. But if the GTX 680 is that much better to be worth $850, then I might get that. But if its a small difference, then I'll just get the 7970, when I get the computer of course.

EDIT: Would it be better to buy a computer that has everything good (Processor, RAM, etc) and just buy a better graphics card?Also, I found these two graphic cards. The ATI is cheaper, but I don't know what would be more worth to get.

i'd definitely go for the better stock CPU.
CPU's and motherboards will come compatible.
GPU's and RAM are compatible with just about every system. CPU's are not.

those GPU's are Behemoths!
im happy with 30fps, and as such, those are way too powerful for me

if your seriously looking at those GPU's then you'll definitely be needing to change the PSU.
since you'd be opening up the system i'd then recommend the Dell again. since they are neatly packaged. however, changing the GPU and PSU are SUPER easy. heres a vid:

if it were me, for the aforementioned reason, the AMD would more than suffice. 40fps for Battlefield 3 at 1910x1200 max settings is more than enough. conversely, the Nvidia manages 60fps at the same settings.

i'd definitely go for the better stock CPU.
CPU's and motherboards will come compatible.
GPU's and RAM are compatible with just about every system. CPU's are not.

those GPU's are Behemoths!
im happy with 30fps, and as such, those are way too powerful for me

if your seriously looking at those GPU's then you'll definitely be needing to change the PSU.
since you'd be opening up the system i'd then recommend the Dell again. since they are neatly packaged. however, changing the GPU and PSU are SUPER easy. heres a vid:

if it were me, for the aforementioned reason, the AMD would more than suffice. 40fps for Battlefield 3 at 1910x1200 max settings is more than enough. conversely, the Nvidia manages 60fps at the same settings.

What kind of PSU would the ATI need?
And what Dell would you recommend to upgrade with the ATI and PSU? I would like to get a Dell with an i7 processor.

Thanks for your help
EDIT: It looks like the only one I can find on Amazon with an i7 is the Dell XPS.

I just finished building my computer and it ran me about 1800$ with shipping and taxes in consideration.
I5 intel what I say for CPU
560 or higher for graphics card
at least 8GB of ram
700Plus power supply and the hyper evo 212 for the heatsink.

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